First brick workout

Today was my first brick workout. Of course it had to be in Boulder. That means waking up at 6:00 am on a Saturday morning. Making sure I really did pack everything last night. And taking off at 7:00 am so I could make it there by 8:00 am. Of course once I get out there, I realize we weren't supposed to meet until 8:30. Oh well.

The first thing that I discover is that I obviously put the clips on my shoes wrong. Backwards AND upside down. I'm smart like that. So I spent the better part of the ride unsuccessfully trying to clip into my pedals until I finally just gave up and rode on the flat side. I have something called campus pedals, which means that they have the clips on one side, and regular flat pedals on the other so I can still use it to commute short distances such as to school. I also apparently did not put my odometer on correctly, but to be fair I did try putting it on at 10:30 last night.

We did a nice route, just north of Boulder, in the area where Zach used to work. We almost went by the greenhouse, but it's on a dirt road. It was a nice 23 mile ride, although it was really hilly! Most of the hills I could get momentum from the downhill, but there was one that was particularly nasty. I also used my first energy goo. It's really gross, has a consistency similar to warm yogurt, but it certainly did the trick. I took it either just before, just after, or during the really nasty hill, I don't remember where anymore, but it definitely gave me the second wind that I needed.



23 miles later, we get back to the parking lot, and are told to change our shoes and go running. I can honestly say I have never felt so physically awkward as I felt this morning. Trying to run after riding your bike for two hours is so weird! My legs wanted to keep going in the cycling motion. My brain kept telling my legs that they were supposed to be running. My legs did not want to listen. It took about 10 minutes of really weird-feeling running to get over the mental/physical dichotomy I was experiencing.

But I made it and have now experienced my first taste at what the triathlon will be like. Of course, there was no swimming at the beginning. But we also rode 7 hilly miles further than the flat 16 mile course we will be doing. And ran about the same distance.

Two months to go? I think I will be over the weird leg/brain issues by then. Maybe. Hopefully. :)